The Imps of Hades

The word Imps has always been a funny one to me because it carries an image that doesn't live up to the word. Imps is just funny to say. (Try it)

But if there are imps of hell, I believe they occupy church sound systems. Does anyone else relish a trip to a "professional" event where they encounter sound problems? I do. P.A. systems are just a difficult thing to run. You only get noticed as a sound guy when something goes wrong, and then in the most stressful part of your day, everyone turns around to look at you. (Very frustrating. DON'T DO THAT)

It is even harder in a situation like ours. Churches that have their own buildings have such an upper hand. But pulling systems in and out is just a tough task. Over time it's easy to get things mixed up. So last night we pulled the system out and went over it with a fine toothed comb. We found 6 channels that have problems, found that the snake is functioning perfectly, and fixed both the Hand held and lapel mics. Then we labeled everything to make setup much more efficient and defined. I think that the A/V team will find it much easier to work with. It was a lot of fun, and I appreciate Matt and Rob coming to help. Unfortunately there were no T-shirts to give to them, but they made a great contribution.

I had more people click the link to find out further information on that than anything ever. Many people expressed regret that they couldn't help during the specified time. I want to thank everyone for checking to see if they could help. I really appreciate a heart of volunteerism.

--Ben

Upgrade from the grill

I've told you before that I have a place of solitude at the altar of my grill. I burn little fires of sticks from my tree.

This morning I got to spend about 90 minutes with a good friend and fellow sojourner. He has built himself a cabin in the woods, and this morning he lit a great fire in the hearth. We sat together and reflected on life, church, and the questions as yet unanswered. It was a great time of renewal for me.

--Ben

I wish I had a fireplace in my patio. It's a bit cold working out here.

Cute Kids

Catching up

Yesterday was one of those days that got stretched longer and longer. My morning meeting was delayed, my mid-day errands had me get home for lunch at 3 p.m. and by the time I headed into the OT meeting at 5 p.m. I was tired. The problem is that I still had tasks to do. My plan was to keep on going into the evening, but during the OT meeting something happened that changed all that.

Someone mentioned that other friends from the church had asked if I was alright, because I had seemed tired. The OT was concerned for me because of the work load I carry. We didn't spend a lot of time on it, but it spent a lot of time on me; rolling around in my head. That's a problem. If I'm tired it's a problem. If I appear tired, that's a problem too. So, this morning I'll catch up on tasks that got pushed back last night. I decided that I needed to stop working and take some time of rest. I'm realizing that I have not been practicing what I preach. I believe in Sabbath rest, but I have not been resting on my Sabbath. I hope you can pray for me related to that.

Instead I spent my time last evening with my family carving the old pumpkin, vegged, and headed to bed.

--Ben

Compassion Journey Food Drive

Sound Equipment

Due to recent problems with our A/V equipment, I'll be soing a setup on Tuesday night. The purpose is to diagnose the problems we've been having. If you'd like to come and help out, learn about the system, or just hang out with a moderately cool pastor, then click here for instructions.

--Ben

Announcement

We want to begin to spread the word that next Sunday there will be an announcement at Severn River Church. It will be a significant announcement, please make plans to be there.

--Ben

Home again, ahhh

Well after a week of being away at school, I jumped in the Ford and headed south back to the home I love. I don't know if I've mentioned it before this week, but the windshield on the Ford leaks. Wouldn't have known it prior to the deluge we've endured this week, but drip drip drip rain falls on my leg while driving.

I got home and fixed my wife's car. It had a wheel come loose. Now I'd like to also mention that a wheel loosened up two weeks ago (different wheel). But I've now checked each wheel and found them tight. At the beginning of the week I found the cap to the break master cylinder was off on the Ford. Strange. Not to get too paranoid here, but do you ever wonder about sabotage? I might need to get someone to do a stakeout for me.

I picked up my girls (I love there affection when I've been away). I just held Sydney for an unusually long time (for her), and she kissed me a lot. Then we packed up and headed to CiCi's pizza. I really enjoy it there. It is obviously low-end pizza, but the atmosphere is great for families, and the staff has a great, friendly way.

So pizza and cinnamon buns out of the way, we headed home and got ready for bed. We read Jungle Book, prayed and settled down for a good night's sleep.

So far this morning we've just hung around the house. I ussually work on Saturday mornings for 3-4 hours, but today I decided to chill with the family. We're having lunch at my mom's with our extended family. Then I'll probably take care of a few things today and maybe get a nap this afternoon.

--Ben

TGOF

This morning my prof. started the class by sharing a thought called TGOF. Instead of thanking God it's Friday, he makes a point of Thanking God On Friday. It was a good thought and we got to share what we're thankful for.

I thanked God for something that I recently spoke to Corie about. I'm thankful for the humbling that God is doing in my life. I have really been recalibrating, and I'm thankful for it.

What are you thankful for?

--Ben

Different ways...

In the book Courageous Leadership Bill Hybels refers to learning the best way for you to connect with God. He recommends that there are probably some ways that facilitate you connecting and drawing strength from God that differ among people. When I read it recently that chapter didn't stand out as peculiar to me, until I had a discussion with someone on our Operations Team. This is a mature follower of Christ who had never heard the idea of differing ways to connect to God. It was a lesson that I took for granted, but found out that there are many Christians who don't know that there are different ways to facilitate connecting with God. It was a foolish oversight. Glad I have good friends.

Communion with God is not a one-sized fits all venture. It isn't cookie cutter, and unfortunately it is not an exact enough science that I could talk with you for an hour and prescribe. I could only recommend, and then it is up to you.

One way to think about it is what the Renovare group offers as the streams of Christianity. They all flow into God, but the streams take different routes: Contemplative, Holiness, Charismatic, Incarnational, Evangelical, and Social Justice. Each of these streams offers a value to the church, and as the church we should seek a balance of these streams. But on an individual level you should know that you'll excel in one of these streams. And you will find that stream helps you connect with God in a deeper, more meaningful way. My recommendation? Explore them. Determine which stream God has made you for. Then after you've discovered it, go there often. Commune with God through that stream, and discipline yourself to try the other streams as a sacrifice of worship to God. Celebrate those whose stream is different from your own, and learn how they connect with God.

--Ben

Wow! Depressing.

To end class today we watched a video that tracked the last months of a man's life while he dealt with a brain tumor that was killing him. It was a step by step documentary that tracked him, his wife, and small child. It was the ultimate in downers. Man, I wanted to cry the whole time. I even felt relief when he finally passed away. If I felt that after only 45 minutes, I only realize how painful it is for families that are going through it for months and months. It was a teaching aid for us as pastoral counselors. But ooooof. I feel like I got kicked in the stomach.

BTW, these issues of mortality are always harder for me since I have become a father.

--Ben

Another day

Well, these classes are great, but they get long and difficult to hang with. This is my fourth day, and I'm glad to be coming to the end of it.

I really miss my family. Tomorrow is homecoming here at my Alma Mater, and I was going to stay for it. But I've decided to head home, because I just miss them. We're going to go out and picnic and play tomorrow night, just to reconnect.

I have a habit of filming videos on my cell phone so that when Corie and I go away I can make her cry by playing the videos of our daughters because she misses them. I enjoy that. ( I know I'm sick.) But I think Corie gets a kick out of how it affects me when my daughter asks me when I'm coming home and gets a little weepy. Because my heart gets a little weepy.

Man, I wanna go home. I miss my girls.

--Ben

Fires

The fires in California are raging, and hopefully slowing. They need a lot of prayer. I posted a prayer request related to specific friends of Severn River Church, Doug and Michelle Grace. You can check it out here.

--Ben

If you treat her good, she'll treat you good

Well, the Ford made it down to Maryland yesterday in time to get to my small group. It only stalled out once, but I got her going again and made it home.

This morning started at 5:00 a.m. getting ready and out the door. She fired up and rumbled up the road. Again, only stalling out once, we made trek to Valley Forge. Arrived safe and sound. Thanks for thinking of me.

--Ben

Great Quote

I just learned that as a pastor I'll eventually make everyone happy.

Some when I come, and the rest when I leave.

Ha!

--Ben

Small group

Tonight is my small group. I'm driving home from school this afternoon, in order to attend and lead the group.

Really, I just want an excuse to see my girls. I miss them so much.

--Ben

Sense of History, Sense of Destiny

I was thinking this morning in the shower (my favorite place to think), about destiny. Destiny has always been an intriguing topic to me. I am an optimist by nature, so I look at the future with bright hope.

But this morning I was reflecting on having a sense of history. More than knowledge, we need understanding. It plays out in several ways. Think about this, our nation's destiny can't be fully understood without a greater understanding of our nation's history. We can't fully understand the New Testament until we understand the Old Testament of the Bible.

Our history over the last two years is so important at Severn River Church. We have a Discover the River (DTR) class coming up on November 4th. It is a class for people who've come into Severn River Church over the last year and are interested in identifying SRC as "their" church. One of the sessions in the small groups seminar is on "our story". I'm really looking forward to sharing that session because I have such a sense of destiny for our church, but it is hardly understood without a sense of history.

If you'd like to get information on DTR click here.

--Ben

The Trip

Yesterday I headed to PA. It takes 2 hours and 15 minutes door to door on the average drive. Yesterday I left at 4:00 p.m. and arrived at 8:00 p.m. That's 4 hours for those in Millersville.

I got gas on the way out of town, and checked the oil. But I did not latch the hood properly. So on Ritchie Hwy. the hood flies up and I had to slow the truck down without being able to see ahead of me. The lift arm on the left side was hyper-extended so that when I tried to put the hood down, it wouldn't budge. I'm standing on the hwy swinging a wrench at the lift arm trying to get it back in place, no go. So I get in the truck, throw it in reverse, and back down Ritchie hwy into the Patriots Plaza. Then I ended up unbolting the lift arm. So, after that problem (all my fault) I got on the Road. When I got to I-95 I found that it was locked up. It took me an hour to go three miles. It was awful. I ended up getting to 695 and taking Bel Air (blair) Rd. all the way to PA.

I arrived at 8:00 pulled into the parking spot in front of my host home, and the truck stalled. I tried to restart it because it wasn't straight in the parking space, but it wouldn't turn over. So I left it, and decided I'd fix it this afternoon after class.

It made for a long trip, and I was tired. Then I had to write a paper!

Procrastinators unite...

tomorrow.

--Ben

BTW, the truck started right up today. I guess it's a little more reliable then I gave it credit for.

Back to School

I'm in Valley Forge, PA for grad school this week. Specifically a class called Pastoral Counseling Essentials. It has been a wild story to get up here. I'll fill you in later.

All I have to say now is that my dad said the Ford Truck was reliable.

--Ben

Fantastic Day

Today was a great day as we held our food drive to benefit the Severna Park Assistance Network. It was amazing. I look forward to showing you more details in the next little while.

--Ben

Compassion Project

Today we'll be at the Severna Park Giant, on Ritchie Hwy collecting food for the Severna Park Area Network (SPAN). SPAN is a local food pantry organized and run by several churches in the area. We have a list provided by them of items they need. Please come by and visit and make a donation for the less fortunate in our community.

See you there,

--Ben

Rebound

Well, for the last several weeks my blog readership has been on a steady decline. I went from averaging close to 40 hits to averaging about 15, but this week has bucked the trend and things are moving upward. So, whoever started clicking on my blog another 10 or 12 times a day, thank you. It's very encouraging.

Have a great Friday,

--Ben

To Hagerstown and Beyond!

Well, I went back out again to Hagerstown. I met with my coach, and had another mind blowing day. This is the best decision that I have ever made. He unpacks things in a very useful way. So much stuff, that I really try to focus on just a small part. That is why I hope my relationship with him is long lasting, so that this stuff can come up again. Then I can work on the rest of it.

The biggest realization that I have come to lately and talked it out with friends and Patrick, is that I have known for years that leaders are learners, but what I have only recently realized that leaders aren't only learners they are leaders. It is as if I have spent years studying and receiving training in leadership and management collecting tools. And in certain circumstances I pull out the tools and show them to people, but they are more like a collection rather than tools I use. Patrick has really helped me to start unpacking the tools and actually putting them to use. That is the biggest benefit so far, and the most important work I can do.

I probably need to post about coaching, because in talking with friends I think it is misunderstood. But suffice to say no matter what you want to accomplish you need a coach. A coach makes you do what you do not want to do, to become what you have always wanted to be.

--Ben

City Dock Cafe

Just got back from City Dock Cafe in Arnold. Great Cafe. Very small though, unfortunately it is not very large. I don't think a small group could meet there comfortably, and I'm not sure if they're going to want me to hang out in there. I'm always conscious of being a good neighbor, so I'll feel it out for a while, but definately loved the place. You can come visit me there soon, I'd love to meet you.

--Ben

Food Drive

This Saturday we will be hosting a food drive to benefit SPAN and the less fortunate in our community. We'll be at the Severna Park Giant from 8:30-1:30. You may come and shop at Giant that day to help the effort, encourage your friends to come by and contribute, or if you would like to bring something by to donate you may bring things off this list:

FOOD DONATION REQUESTS:

Cereal

Boxed Rice

Pastas

Spaghetti Sauce

Canned Meats (sausages, tuna, beef stew, etc.)

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Macaroni and Cheese

Pancake Mix

Canned Fruit and Vegs

Pork N Beans

TOILETRY DONATION REQUESTS:

Shampoo or conditioner

Bath Soap (bars)

Shaving Cream

Toothpaste/Toothbrushes

--Ben

Great Small Group

I really had a great time with my small group last night. We got to add a new member. It was a lot of fun just talking and getting to know each other. I think that God has created us for community. Community is a place where you can know and be known. That's what we've been experiencing at our small group. We started looking forward to the 7th week rest. We're looking at Putt-Putt golf, Bowling, Bounce around, or lazertag. I'll let you know what we end up with.

Trial Run

This afternoon I'm heading out to the new coffee house with a friend to scope it out. Hopefully we'll come back with a good report.


Some may wonder why it is important for me to find a coffee house location for anything more than coffee. I decided almost two years ago that I wanted a major focus of my ministry to be cultivating community connections. I had been trapped for years in a prison of my own making that kept me from knowing and talking with those who are unchurched or dechurched. The door with a title of Associate Pastor kept me from spending time where people who need Jesus are. It really comes from the model of Jesus, he liked to hang around wells because in the first century that was where you got something to drink. They were natural gathering places for all kinds of people. Jesus met a woman there and changed an entire village in Samaria. I agree with Mark Batterson who says, "Coffee houses are postmodern wells".

--Ben

New Book Review: Confessions of a Pastor

Craig Groeschel is pastor of a large and growing church that covers parts of Oklahoma and Texas. I was first introduced to Craig in a magazine called Your Church, a technology magazine for churches. The reason his church was featured was because they were on the leading edge of the multi-site model of church ministry. Multi-site is a term that references churches that have multiple locations, typically broadcasting the message via video.

This book is the first I've read by Craig, and maybe it's the only one he's written; I'm not sure. It was a quick and easy read. It was not particularly life changing for me. I'm sure that there are many people who found it so, in fact, I know some who have put this book on their top list. It is not on mine....

To read the rest of this review click here.

--Ben

The Loose Wheel

Driving my wife's car last night I noticed a vibration and noise as we drove. First thing this morning I jacked the car up and found that one of her tires was loose. I rotated the tires a couple weeks ago, drove over 400 miles in it with no problem. Over the last week she started noticing the problem.

I just wanted the thank God for watching over her. Glad that she was safe.

Righty tighty, lefty loosy,

-- Ben

Recycled Pain

Last night I was at a small group for Pastors in our area. I genuinely love getting together with these guys. Bill, Dan, Bruce, Phil and our wives get together three times a year for an evening. It is always enriching to go.

Now just to be real, please understand, that last night I had already worked 7:00-7:00 and the thought crossed my mind that I'd like to not go, but I'm awfully glad I did.

I had been looking forward to seeing a new church planter, Darrin, there but he was unable to attend. While we talked we reflected on the idea that pain is not wasted, rather it is recycled in the lives of others who don't have to make the same mistakes or share the same painful experience. That's why I had hoped Darrin would be there. There is so much that I would share with him from my first year of bumping and scraping through the rigors of Church Planting that hopefully could be recycled to help him have greater success than me.

--Ben

Thanks for the response

Great response to helping me find another coffee house. I will be trying to follow-up on the suggestions. I just wanted to say thanks.

--Ben

Connection Card

Nelson Searcy of The Journey church in NYC, has a church development group called Churchleaderinsights.com. On it he teaches best practices of the church in North America. He is tenacious about finding these best practices. That tenacity probably was fueled by his business studies at Duke University.

One of the things I've been studying lately is the assimilation process. Nationally, the best average for retaining first time visitors is 25%. One out of four guests are likely to come back a second time. That is the same for growing churches across the nation regardless of overall attendance. Growing churches see a 5:100 ratio of first time guests to regular attenders, and have a follow-up of assimilation strategy in place. We have a system of follow-up worked out, and in the last couple months of using it, we are seeing a good return.

The centerpiece of our effort is called the Connection Card. This is a tool that is recommended by Searcy, and is used at growing churches all over the nation. The biggest key? Information. We have been surprised in just the first few weeks how people are able to communicate. We have a means now of receiving changing information like e-mail addresses, learning that people are interested in our membership class, volunteering for ministry, sharing prayer requests, and asking for counseling. But while that serves the regular attender's needs, the other side of the card is providing the information needed from guests.

Not every guest is going to stay, but what about the ones that want to stay. We have to be able to harvest information to help them navigate their way into our community. Providing name and contact information is a huge advantage in helping them connect. It's so important, that we take deliberate time at the end of each service to ask people to fill it out. Everyone. Everytime.

We've decided that it would be better to deliberately repetitive than haphazardly responsive to the people who attend, and especially our guests. We ask everyone to drop their card in a basket on the way out of FLRS 101. You know, it's interesting that even though, most of the cards don't give us any information because their regular attenders who don't have any change in their information, the action of them filling it out encourages guests to fill theirs out. Seeing regular attenders drop their card in encourages the first, second or third time guest to drop theirs in. So for the SRC, the connection of new guests is the responsibility of all of us.

Thanks for participating, and helping us grow.

--Ben

New Grounds

That title is a word play in the world of coffee houses. We've moved to Atlanta Bread Company. But there is a common word that Matt and I share about this place...Generic. It is so cold and uninviting. It's like plastic and fake. It's just not the real thing. Even Panera Bread is more authentic than this place.

But maybe we're just on the rebound.

--Ben

Members Meeting

Lately, I have realized that there is not a place in our schedule for a members meeting. The members of course are those who have been through Discover the River (DTR) and committed to being a part of the church. Severn River Church is there church, but there is no way to report to them how things are going. This is something that we will be rectifying in the near future. We'll call it the members meeting. It will not be a regular weekly or monthly meeting, instead it will be occasional. But somewhere that we can deal with some of the behind the scenes realities of the church.

--Ben

A morning with Ellie

Well, we've finally gotten to a place where Corie is able to break away from Ellie. As a nursing mother she pretty much has to be wherever the baby is. But Now we've got some bottles prepared and last night we were able to have our first date since Ellie was born. And then this morning Corie took Sydney to a soccer game that her cousin is playing in and I get to stay home with Ellie. So far, she's been in a very happy mood, and I manged to put her down for a nap, and in a little while I'll feed her.

After the soccer game we're all going to my niece's birthday party. It should be a good day.

--Ben

Please Pray for my Dad.

I listed a prayer request at the SRC prayer page. If you're interested in praying for my Dad, click here.

--Ben

Headed t o Hagerstown

It's early in he morning. I'm about to head out to Hagerstown for coaching. I have really enjoyed, and feel I've benefited from this process.

A coach is someone who makes you do what you don't want to do, in order to become what you've always wanted to become.

--Ben

To see if these things are so...

Bad news on the doorstep. It appears that Corky's has gone out of business. The coffee house that I've made my second office for the last year and a half closed sometime over last weekend. Today I'm going to make another trip down there to see if I can find out what is going on. It's a sad, sad day.


--Ben

Filming

Well, today we're filming again. Gotta get the blue shirt out :-). We're trying to wrap up fliming for the Small group DVDs. It's been a fun experience. I hope that this effort has been one we can improve in th future.

Thanks to Pasadena Assembly for allowing us to set up and film there.

--Ben

Long Day, Good Day

Yesterday I was up at 6:00 a.m. and laid my head on the pillow a little after 10 p.m. It was a good day.

It was good because it was one of the most normal days that I have had in my work schedule since Ellie was born. I love working at home because on long work days like that I can still grab some time with my girls. Yesterday I took a 20 minute nap with Sydney, and spent time holding Ellie on the couch. I ran an errand for my wife and got her a new diaper bag.

On the work side it was good too. I had an important meeting with Matt, and then last night I got to rehearse with the band (Meghan calls us "humble beginnings"). We practiced the superset, and learned some songs that we did not know before. So glad to have added the bass guitar, and another singer.

The band mentioned last night that it would be great to have a keyboardist and lead guitarist. If you are one, or know one we'd love to have you try out.

--Ben

It's Seldom the Fault of the Followers

There is a leadership lesson that has been going over and over in my head. It goes like this, "It is seldom the fault of the followers." The onus of responsibility rests on the leader. It is the leader who casts the vision, and leads toward the shared end. Leaders cannot be separated from followers because ultimately they end up in the same places. The difference is that the leader knows where they are heading and has the commitment to get them there. That reminds me of another core belief about leadership, "If we are not moving, we are not leading." Leadership is neccessarily going somewhere. When people get off track, it is ussually because the leader is not leading well.

There are cases when it is the fault of the follower. Moses was not negligent when the people of Israel made the golden calf they were just stiff-necked. But as soon as Moses returned he led the correction to the problem. When he was faced with leading the people away from their idolatry it became his problem again. I have thought a lot about this in relation to John 10:11-17. As the good shepherd we need to know where we are leading. We need to know our sheep. Our sheep need to know us and hear our voice. It is up to us to lead them, because it is seldom the fault of the followers.

--Ben

Weekend Reflections

It was a good weekend and I enjoy taking a moment to reflect.

1. Getting my family back.

Many of you endured my Cyber-moping last week while my girls were in Ocean City, MD. I missed them so much, but they came back to me on Friday. It was a good reunion, and we spent Saturday afternoon and evening together playing on the swings, trampoline, and coming home to get in bed. It was nice to be able to read together and pray on mommy's bed.

2. Small group on Friday.

The weekend started with a specially scheduled small group night. We had adjusted our group time because some of the group was away during the week. I shared my thoughts during our small group, and pretty much I felt that Friday night was not the best night to do a group meeting. The reason is because I was tired, and I think the others were too. Friday night is just such a time for relaxing and unwinding that it's hard to get "up" for discussion. We had some trouble with our DVD too, that didn't help.

3. 1200-1500 Challenge.

This week in my message I shared a glimpse into the future of SRC. About six months into starting this church I realized that we had already drifted away from the mission. Well, not drifted away so much as realized that we didn't really have direction on how to pursue it. I knew that it must be founded in the heart of serving our community. It must be acted out in the compassion of Christ. That's why we designed the Compassion Journey. It is a catalyst to create a reaction in our lives to the world around us. In November we'll begin a year long effort to know our community, and become known to our community. We will conduct between 1200-1500 face to face contacts in our area of the next year through surveys, interviews and focus groups. I'm really excited about an intentional way to know the people who God has called us to serve. And do you think 1200 contacts might change the face of SRC? I do. Get ready to volunteer, you'll get a free T-shirt.

4. A sense that God has a plan for us.

My final reflection of the weekend is a feeling that God has a plan for us. I preached on the Good Shepherd this week. And I genuinely felt like God was releasing us to lead our community. I think that we will change. I think there are changes for us on the horizon, but I have a strong sense of destiny. God is shaping and positioning us to be a significant church in the greater Annapolis area; making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey God's word.

Thanks,

--Ben

First Year

Another weekend has come and gone and we offically passed our 52nd public meeting We're a full year old! Wow, in so many ways it is so hard to believe that that much time came and went. A year seems like such a long time, but days fly by, weeks are pleasant memories when I can remember them, months are a little clearer in the mind, and a year is only a small collection of months, so WOW what a year. Feel free to leave comments and share your memories of the last year.

The path that a church plant travels is such an uncharted one. I'm not sure that any of us would have seen where we'd be, where we'd be on the edge of going. There are places we thought we'd be that we're not, and places that we never thought of, that we've come to. But that's fairly typical of the walk of faith.

I have a tendency to look forward, but this is a great time to look back and celebrate what God has done. I want to especially thank the launch team (those first twenty people) who have worked hard, probably harder than they've ever worked for church before. Church planting is such a hard road, and so many of you hung in for the long haul. Please receive my genuine thanks.

--Ben

Welcome to the 20th century

Yes, you read that title correctly. The 20th century.

Some people refer to me as a "techie", but today I'm upgrading to 20th century technology. I'm getting Cable TV. Just basic, no premium channels, but I haven't ever had Cable TV before. It's so exciting.

It's always been an act of simplicity for me to do without it. I couldn't afford it, but with the competition between companies, I'm ending up with TV, cable, and phone for less than I was paying for phone and DSL. Well, for thirteen months anyway. So check in a year from now to find out that I have returned to the rabbit ears...

--Ben

It Is Not Good For Ben To Be Alone

In Genesis 2 we have the expanded creation account and God declares that it is not good for man to be alone, so he created a woman. I wonder how hard it was to get Adam to fall asleep for the surgery?

If Adam was like me, he had a hard time falling asleep without the woman nearby. He was probably aimlessly flipping channels on TV, checking his email box over and over, waiting for the phone to ring, anything but laying down to get the sleep that his eyes are telling him he needs, but something else is saying, "It's just not worth it without her around."

You see, when God said, "It is not good for men to be alone" he could easily have just said, "It is not good for BEN to be alone."

My wife is away this week. When she goes away I fall into a slight depression. Not the depression that makes people cry and hurt. It is more like a low lying area, just not at level. I get lethargic and tired, but I don't sleep because inane activities that accomplish nothing keep me from sleep. Because I know that to go to bed without her means a meaningless night.

Even when we fight we end up in the same bed. And I like to touch her even though she's mad. You know, just my foot up against her foot or my elbow touching her shoulder. Because despite the fight, I love her with all my heart, and our relationship has meaning. And I don't know how it is in your house, but most times, by the next morning the fight is behind us, and we're back into life refreshed and reinvigorated.

And without getting too sappy (maybe I've already crossed that line) I realize in days like this that if I ever lost her I would be sunk. My life would flake apart like the rust on my front stoop railing. If you want to see the disintegration of my life, just take away the woman that holds me together. It's my silver bullet, my kryptonite, the secret of my strength.

Because, Lord knows, it is not good for Ben to be alone.

--Ben

Winning on the Road

Dr. Wood spoke in Wednesday morning's session, and referenced a habit that he has. He cuts the baseball standings out of the newspaper the day that the regular season is over. Both AL and NL teams are listed in the order they finished in their respective divisions. He noted that he has a working theory on who will win the Series, and almost every year he's picks correctly. The answer is the team that has the best winning percentage while on the road. Many teams with great records at home can't seem to win on the road, but it's winning on the road that makes the difference.

Then he reminded us that we have citizenship in heaven. So all of life is an away game. We better win away.

--Ben

The Perspective of a Wittness

It seems daily I learn that perspective I have on just about everything is limited because so much of my reference is from secondary sources. That is, other people's accounts that they've written down. It is so much more valuable when I hear the perspective of someone who lived through it in there own voice. Let me explain.

A group of 5 missionaries were killed in Equador years before I was born. I believe it was in the 50's, but as I was not alive yet, I am not entirely sure on that. I heard the story of Nate Saint and Jim Elliott as a child, I read it in history class. But this weekend I heard it told from the perspective of a man who was a child at the time and listened to the news report in his school the day it happened. The story is incredible of 5 young men who decided to go to a stone-age group of Indians to take the gospel. They had firearms with them for safety from animals, but had made an agreement that even if attacked they would not use them on humans. And the five men died at the hands of the tribe they were trying to take the gospel to.

That act launched thousands of young people into missions all around the world. But the man who shared it actually heard the radio report. He knew other kids who dedicated their lives to service because of Elliott and his friend's sacrifice. And when he quoted a famous statement of Jim Elliott's it resonated with me in a different way. I hope it moves you, like it moves me...

"He is no fool who gives up what he can not keep to gain what he can not lose."

Elliott and his friends lived that out giving up their lives which they could not have held onto forever, in order to gain an eternal reward that they'll have forever.

--Ben

Unpacking

I am home from the retreat. Those things are good for spiritual refreshment, but not physical simply because it's not long enough. It is so deceiving. It looks like three days on your calendar, but it is only one full day with partial days on either side that include 2 hour drives, packing, unpacking, etc.

I think I am going to end up with a nap this afternoon to catch up.

You know the practice of putting clothes away after a trip. Doing laundry and sorting mail takes up the time, but there is more unpacking to be done. The speakers this week Dick Foth and George Wood both had some much to say, that I stuffed it into my memory and supplemented that with notes that I took during their teachings. I look forward to sharing some of them with you in the next several hours and days.

Maybe after that nap.

--Ben

A year ago it all started

One year ago today was the first public service of Severn River Church. I should have more thoughts on that, but I'm leaving for a minsters retreat. Posting might be sparse, but my thoughts are centered on the goodness of God and the blessing that the launch team has been to me.

--Ben

And now I drive to Cumberland.